I will be the first to admit that the basic tidying isn’t something that I like to do. I wash out the sink and the toilet and the shower when I have to, and the dishes get done, but if I never had to do it again I wouldn't be upset. Over the holidays, when things were on sale, we bought a Roomba. They were as cheap as they were ever going to be, and it seemed like a good idea. I had a lot of questions about this purchase like I do with most $300 purchases. Do I need a Roomba? Is it worth the money? Does it work? Was it as magically life-changing as we had hoped? Here are some thoughts.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Is the house suitable for the Roomba?

Our house has a mix of hardwood, carpet, and thick rugs on the floor. It also is an older house, so there are large air intake vents on the floor that are for an aging furnace. It also has multiple floors. All of these things work against the Roomba. It gets confused by the vents and needs to call for help. We have also never tried to run it upstairs as of yet. So far, it is a main-floor only activity. Size also matters. The Roomba is surprisingly slow at her job. Our 1000-square-foot main floor often can’t be cleaned in a single 90-minute charge. If you have a big home, even if the layout is ideal for your Roomba, it will have a hard time cleaning all of it efficiently.

Did you Roomba-proof your home?

Much like when you have babies around, you have to go through a Roomba-proof the house. Cover grates. Open (or shut) doors as needed to let it through. Make sure that there are no items on the floor. Our biggest problem has been with dog toys or fragments of bone. Also socks, or extra long phone chargers. All of these will stop the Roomba. As much as I wish this was a set it and forget it situation, I have to make sure that the house is ready the night before the Roomba goes.

How often will you empty your vacuum?

Our Roomba runs every day. Every. single. one. We have a hairy dog, and I have noticed that our house is less dusty and there are fewer traces of dog in general. But we do end up having to clean the Roomba about every three days. There’s also that thing of her getting stuck and needing cleaning right now or she is done for the day. It’s kind of gross, using a letter opening to cut away the hair wrapped around the brushes, or dumping out the frankly huge amount of lint and dog hair that is not contained in any kind of bag.

Do you need your vacuum to do a great job every time?

I’m not sure how much of the room the Roomba is covering. She runs the full 90 minutes, but it’s clear that not all of the floors are getting cleaned. She loves cleaning the formal dining room, but doesn’t spend as long or as often in the living room. It does take a long time to charge (6+ hours), so that is all you get for the day. So, do you need it to be reliable like a real vacuum? It won’t be. But it does take away all the heavy lifting. I find myself only really needing to vacuum like every six weeks now, compared to before Roomba when I constantly thought the carpet was disgusting.

The Verdict

We still have other vacuums (yeah, plural) for our hand-vac and deeper cleaning needs. This won’t be the be-all-end-all of vacuuming. It took a lot of learning on our end about how to keep our house Roomba-friendly. I can’t just toss my socks anywhere. But it does the heavy lifting, and at the end of the day, our floor is getting vacuumed roughly seven times per week more than it was. I love it, even with the high-maintenance situation. I can’t stress this enough — I don’t like to vacuum, and I don’t often remember to do it. The Roomba always remembers to do it. However, all of this is just my opinion.

The Roomba, which isn’t cheap, is not for everyone, and I hope this steers you into knowing if it’s for you. Happy cleaning!